Total E C L I P S E of the H E A R T
by foreveryourgirlfred
Summary: Embry's imprinted. On Charlie Swan's niece Hayleigh, who's moved to Washington after her mother's death. She's stubborn, a risk taker and she's emotionally closed off. Can he make her see that she's the one he needs? M at some point. Romance/dark humor
1. Chapter 1

_Embry was the only one left now to imprint. It was official. And he was miserable. The pack was having a bonfire that night, for the latest member to imprint, as a celebration. Right now, Embry Call didn't feel like celebrating._

_He felt angry and more alone than he had in his whole life. He wanted what the others had. He stared into the fire, a cold look forming in his eyes. With crossed arms, he listened to the stories told, again. He went through all the motions, and he attempted to appear happy. _

_But inside, he was dying. Was he really that undesirable? Or that unlucky?_

_Nessie sat with Jacob and watched Embry. She felt terrible for him, he was one of her good friends, and no one ever seemed to give him a second look. It was more about everyone else. She sighed and shifted closer to Jacob, and after kissing him gently, she whispered, "I'll be right back, Jakey. I'm going to go talk to him, so he doesn't feel so alone right now."_

_Jacob nodded and then said "He'll imprint. I know what he feels like. I'm coming with. Maybe we can cheer him up, together?" as he smiled at Nessie. She was the best thing that could have happened to him and he was thankful for her every day._

_Embry groaned and scowled at Nessie and Jake. "Go away. I know what you're both going to say, and I'm honestly not in the mood for it right now. I won't ever imprint, and I honestly don't give a damn anymore. I'm sick of it all. I wish I could give these powers up. But no, I'm stuck with them."_

_Nessie's cell phone went off. It was her father. She answered and listened to what he said to her. She had to go home, right away, her grandfather had something to tell them all, and he wanted the entire family there to hear it._

"_Jake, we have to go." Nessie said, as she tried to use her abilities to sense what lie ahead, why her grandfather had been so mysterious over the phone with her mom. She had a feeling her mom and dad knew, but not her._

_Jacob drove them to Charlie's, where he saw someone he hadn't seen since he and Bella were kids. Bella's cousin Hayleigh. She didn't look too happy either. He walked over and after a few blinks asked, "Hayleigh? Is that you?"_

_Hayleigh looked up and nodded, then set to grabbing her bags, mumbling under her breath, swearing at her mother, and pretty much life in general. She finally spoke out loud. "My idiot mother finally married the man that was the death of her. She od'ed and now, I have to live here, with uncle Charlie. How's everyone at the res? Any wild horses that you guys need tamed?"_

_Jacob laughed and said, "No, not at the moment. It's sad though, about your mom, Hayleigh. She was always really nice to me when my mom died." This was met with a hollow laugh as Hayleigh stopped, and turned then said calmly, "Why, Jacob, that's because you weren't her kid. I know the real Alaina Swan. She's manipulative, cold and cruel. To everyone else she was this great person. To me, she was the one person that made me realize that all I have in life, is myself. So, I hate to tell you this, but you won't see me crying about her being gone."_

_Jacob stared in shock at Hayleigh, not quite sure what to do with her admission just now. He ran a hand across his black spiky hair and then shrugged. Hayleigh hadn't ever been one to actually hold back her thoughts and feelings. _

_Nessie felt bad for her cousin Hayleigh, to have been through so much. She seemed so intense, and so cut off, numb even. She made a mental note to spend a lot of time with Hayleigh, and maybe take her to the reservation with herself and Jacob later, when they went to go cliff diving. Nessie knew that Charlie had to work tonight, and she had the feeling that it would be an all nighter for her grandfather._

_She turned to Hayleigh, as they entered her mother's old room and asked, "How would you like to go cliff diving, with me and Jacob later? Come on, please? You'll be here alone if you don't, and I know Grandpa will worry."_

_Hayleigh shrugged and said "Sure. Not like I've got anything better to go and do, right? Besides, I like doing things that could be dangerous. It's fun. So, count me in." as she took things out of boxes and put them up, neatly and carefully._

_Even though as neatly as she'd done things, in five minutes, her room would look like a hurricane hit it. Just like always. _

_Nessie stayed in Hayleigh's room for a while, looking at all of her stuff, and talking to her, then said "We leave in twenty minutes, I'll come let you know when we're heading out." Before hugging her cousin, and walking back down to Jake and her grandfather._

_Charlie sat talking to Jake, about Hayleigh's life since she'd moved at the age of six, and thanking him and Nessie profusely, for attempting to welcome her to Washington, and help her fit in over the summer. Jake shrugged and said "Well, we should get going, Edward likes Ness home by eight. Nessie, can you go and see if Hayleigh's ready?"_

_Hayleigh emerged at the foot of the stairs, wearing a pair of board shorts and a swimsuit top, carrying a towel. "ready to go yet guys?" she asked, as she leaned against the wall. She had to get out, do something. If she sat in that room all afternoon, she'd only get even more bitter and angry._

_She stiffly hugged her uncle Charlie, and bounced out of the house behind Jake and Nessie. The drive to La Push wasn't a long one, and the second they were on the beach, Hayleigh had her surfboard, and was jogging to the water. The waves were too high to be surfing, but she didn't care._

_She had to feel the adrenaline. She heard her cousin and her cousin's boyfriend calling her name, but she ignored them, and kept running. She stood up on the surfboard, and angled it at one of the bigger waves. She surfed into it, and gritted her teeth, awaiting impact. The water sucked her under, and she popped back up after what seemed like forever to Jacob and Nessie._

_Embry was patrolling the woods, when he smelled something. Something mouthwatering. Something he had to find, or die trying. His nose lead him to First Beach, and he heard Jacob and Nessie screaming and pointing at the water. _

_He phased into human form, and walked up to them, to ask what was going on. Jake filled him in on Charlie's niece, Hayleigh, how she'd ran out into the higher surf with her surfboard, and then a wave had knocked her into the water._

_Ripping off his t shirt, he ran out into the water, just as the scent hit him fully in the face one more time, and the girl popped up, right in front of him, laughing her ass off. Suddenly, he realized, he'd found the smell, and saved Hayleigh's life. _

_He'd also imprinted on her just now, when he'd seen her for the first time. His instincts kicked in, and he threw her over his shoulder, carrying her out of the water and onto the shore. He sat her down, and took the surf board to Jake's truck, putting it into the bed of the truck._

_He walked back and looking at her said "No more surfing today. The weather channels issued that high tide warning this morning for a reason, not just to hear themselves talk."_

_Hayleigh glared and then said "Oh really. And if I go surfing again, you're gonna do what to me, exactly? You're not my father. I'm not a kid, I can take care of myself."_

_Embry glared and said "If that were true, Hayleigh, then I wouldn't have just gotten you out of water over both of our heads now would I? Just do it." As he began to storm off._

_Hayleigh mocked him and glared at him as he walked off. She never noticed how her heart had just sped up until he'd gone from the beach completely. She turned to Jacob and asked, "What crawled up his ass, exactly?" as she snickered to herself._

_Jacob let out the laughter he'd been holding in. He'd been hearing what his friend was thinking, the entire time. So had Nessie. Hayleigh looked at them both, laughing, and walked down the opposite end of the beach, shaking her head and fuming about her "Surfing" being interrupted, and that guy being a giant grouch._

_Later on that afternoon, they found themselves at Emily's. Everyone had been talking about Embry's having imprinted on Hayleigh in their mental form of communication. Hayleigh sat nearby, unaware, completely of anything other than the youtube videos she was watching. When Embry walked in, he saw her, and smiled, staring adoringly at her, until she looked up of course. Then he hardened his face and the "tough guy act" came back._

_Hayleigh smirked and said "You again. Come to save me from youtube now as well? I'm fine, thanks." as she left the room and walked outside, leaving them all to freely discuss his less than stellar first impression, and ponder why exactly Hayleigh was the way she was. The group came to the conclusion that it was something she kept to herself, but was always on her mind._

_Jacob had a theory, and Nessie agreed, that Hayleigh was so messed up by her mom, the way she'd been raised, that the way she behaved was completely normal for her, and she knew no other way. Embry thought she might just be stubborn and enjoy asserting her independence.._

_Outside, Hayleigh heard a voice on the wind, calling her name. She began to walk towards the woods, as if she were in a trance. Had the pack not smelled a vampire not of the Cullens nearby, then she'd have been lured away. Embry got to her first, and got her back inside. When he tried to look for the vampire, he couldn't find them._

_Finally, Jake had to take Hayleigh and Nessie home. And Sam told Embry that he had to wait a little bit, before he saw her again. Which of course, pissed Embry off. He'd waited so long wait longer? And what if she kept taking risks, when he wasn't there to save her. Sam sighed and explained why, and Embry said "Fine. But no longer than I have to, right? I mean just long enough to learn the self control."_

_Sam nodded and then with a smile said, "Don't worry so much. She likes you, you can tell if you look at her. The one problem with that is, it scares the hell out of her.So, she won't admit it. But, she won't want to date anyone else."_

_Embry walked home and fell into bed, dreaming of Hayleigh. And willing himself to learn control fast._


	2. Chapter 2

Hayleigh sat up in bed, breathing heavily. She had been having a nightmare again, no doubt. And apparently, she'd woken up her uncle Charlie. Sheepishly, she shrugged it off and mumbled, "I'm fine, uncle Charlie. You can go get some sleep, honest. I'm a big girl, it'll be alright." she said bravely, though she knew this wouldn't be true.

When she closed her eyes, she'd see it all over again, and she'd feel the same way she'd felt, the night it'd happened to her. Alone, afraid, violated and cold. She'd also feel dirty and useless, but she never talked about it. Not even her own mother had known it'd happened, and Hayleigh intended to keep it that way as long as she could do it. There was no way in hell she was going to turn into one of "those girls".. The type everyone pitied, but noone really wanted to talk to, because they didn't want to hear her piss and moan about her "pathetic little life.". She'd known girls like that, and they really got on her last nerve.

And Hayleigh KNEW she was stronger than that.

Charlie Swan knew that his niece was hiding something, and that if she'd only let herself talk about it, she might be okay again. Or as close to okay as she could be, all things considered. But, he knew Hayleigh, and he knew that it'd be a cold day in hell before Hayleigh let anyone worry about her or her problems, or the things she had to deal with living with her mother, in San Diego and wherever else they'd lived. She was too stubborn and independent to just let someone take care of her for once.

Besides, it stood to reason, that she'd been caring for herself for so long now, she didn't know any other way. With a sigh, Charlie gave her a questioning look that was returned with a sleepy yawn and a pointing of her finger to the door of the room, as she told him, "Go. Sleep." and settled back into Bella's old bed. He stood watching her get settled back in, and turned off the light.

After standing there a bit longer, to make sure she tried to go back to sleep, he watched her. At seventeen, his niece sucked her thumb in her sleep at times. He laughed to himself in the dark. When hayleigh had been younger, he'd tried his damndest to raise her with her cousin Bella, but his sister would have none of that, even though his sister was not cut out to be a mother.

She'd liked to party too much. They'd fallen out, and she'd taken Hayleigh, gotten as far from their old hometown as she could get. Charlie only knew bits and pieces of what happened after that, mostly through Edward or Bella tapping into her mind or the little she did say about her mother. He gathered they did not get along, at all.

He sighed to himself in the dark, and left the doorway of the room going down the hall to his own bedroom and falling into bed. Hayleigh had been right. He had been really sleepy.

Sometime during the night, Hayleigh woke up again, because she heard her name being whispered nearby. She opened her eyes and saw nothing. It was driving her nuts, because she kept hearing this guy call her name out. But, she never saw anyone. She got up and walked to the window, and looked down. Her heart sped up as she realized there was a guy with dark black hair and glowing red eyes standing beneath a street lamp across the road. He looked up at her and smiled.

Hayleigh let loose with an ear splitting shriek, fully freaked out now. Her uncle ran in and she pointed, but he said nothing was there. She mumbled a few choice words and tried to go back to sleep. She heard the voice once more, further away now, and it whispered "SOON." before it faded out completely. She shoved her head beneath a pillow, and jammed the earbuds to her Ipod in, turning it up extra loud, just in case the damned voice came back.

She was beginning to hate hearing it. And beginning to wonder why exactly she kept on hearing it, who they were, and WHY they'd want her. She wondered if maybe she was losing it, or something, but she didn't think so. She had seen a person outside earlier. He'd had red eyes, and he'd been oddly pale.

She tossed and turned for a few more hours, and then she had to get up because Nessie was banging on the bedroom door, and let herself in. Hayleigh rubbed her eyes and said quietly, "Up, damn it. I'm up."

Nessie knew right off the bat, Hayleigh hadn't slept the night before. She asked her cousin about this, and Hayleigh shrugged. She had a feeling it had to do with that vampire that'd been near La Push the other day, but she kept quiet. She'd talk to Sam and plead with him about letting Embry be around her when she saw Jake later on today.

For now, she remembered, it was Hayleigh's birthday. "Come on! Esme and the others are giving you a party." she said as she threw clothes at her cousin and pointed to the bathroom. Hayleigh shook her head and said "It's just another day, okay. I never celebrated them before, not gonna start now."

Her mom used to tell her how worthless and how big a mistake she'd been every year on this day. With her gone, Hayleigh was going to enjoy the peace the not hearing her slur "I wish I'd never gotten knocked up with you, Hayleigh Ayane." over and over at her. So, she planned to grab some ice cream, and sit on her ass in front of the television watching sports all day long, in her pajamas.

Maybe when her uncle Charlie left, she'd have one of his beers and hope like hell he didn't notice that one or two were missing.

Nessie sighed and said "You made me do this." and before Hayleigh knew what was going on, she was being dragged out the door. In her pajamas and white tanktop, and slide on house shoes. Her hair was a mess, and she looked like she'd been hit by a truck a few times.

Ah well. Their problem, not hers, she thought to herself as the Cullen house came into view from the window of Edward's Volvo. When the suv stopped, she nodded quietly as everyone began introducing themselves. The one she instantly liked was Jasper. He was quiet and he didn't really talk to her much.

Hayleigh liked this. She was never sure what to say to any of the others, in all honesty, because they were so friendly. But Jasper, he was what she was used to. She preferred it.

Edward read her mind and sighed. Still no really big clues as to why Hayleigh was a closed off person. He knew a lot about how her mother had treated her, and that did explain a lot of it, but not why she went out of her way to keep everyone away from her. Something truly terrible had to have happened, for her to shut down almost completely.

Hayleigh blew out her candles and made a surprising wish. She wished that she didn't want to cut out everyone. And she wished to see Embry again, because she felt really, really bad about how cold she'd been the other day, when he'd pulled her out of the water at First Beach. Plus, for the better part of the week that'd passed, he'd been lurking in the back of her mind. And it was driving her insane. He was under her skin and she wasn't sure if she liked it.

Edward heard her think those thoughts, loud and clear, and it took all he had not to laugh. He did tell Bella, who smiled and said "Well, maybe we could talk to Sam? It couldn't hurt, right?"

Edward nodded and said "Yes. We'll call them later. But for now, let's give birthday girl her presents. She seems oddly enough, to be enjoying this. Even though each time that thought surfaces in her brain, she quickly shoves it right back out. SOmehting about not wanting to be happy in fear of being sad again."

Finally, it was time for Hayleigh to go back to her uncles. When she got there, and got all of her presents out of the Volvo, she heard the voice again, and for a brief second, she caught a fleeting glimpse of the red eyed man again. Then he was gone.

She growled and hurried inside and up to her room where she curled up into a ball on the small twin sized bed and lay there. Why the hell was this person doing that to her? What'd he want with her?

Again the voice whispered, "Getting closer now. Soon, my love. Soon."

Hayleigh shouted "No! You come out right now! Face me like a man, damn it!"

The voice was gone, and all was quiet again.


	3. Chapter 3

The sound of Creed woke Hayleigh up early that morning. She groaned, and rolled over in the twin sized bed. She promptly fell off and began cursing. Then she heard that voice, all over again. Groaning she mumbled, _So not in the fucking mood for this today_, as she stumbled to the bathroom down the hall, and began brushing her teeth.

The red eyed vampire with black hair couldn't resist. She was so close to him now, her blood was practically singing a full on opera to her. He hurried to her bathroom, using his speed. Standing behind her, in the mirror, he knew that he was taking a big risk. She wasn't supposed to be this enticing. But, she was. He put a hand on her shoulder gently. He didn't want to hurt her, no quite the opposite. He was drawn to her, tied to her, because of her blood. The way it sang for him.

He felt her wince, then heard her scream and turn slowly. He put his hand over her mouth gently, and pinned her against the small counter and kissed her. He knew he shouldn't, but he had to. Then he whispered again, _Soon love.._ and he was gone.

When the creep had gone, Hayleigh let out an earsplitting string of very loud and very bad words, before bolting from the bathroom, down the stairs and grabbing her uncle's shotgun from over the mantle. Her uncle ran up the stairs behind her, asking what was going on, all the way. She stopped and turned around slowly, then said calmly, **Someone was just in the upstairs bathroom with me. I'm going to shoot the bastard. Either you can help me, or you can arrest me, Uncle Charlie. EIther way, he's going to learn, NOT TO PEEK IN ON ME when I'm about to shower. And if he ever kisses me again, I'm going to blow his whole fricking face off."**

Charlie shrugged and said "**You get back down stairs, let me go up there. And give me my damned gun, kid. You can't just go around shooting at people. Sheesh!"** as he made his way past her, and up the stairs, with a warning glance back over his shoulder, that told her she needed to stay put.

Hayleigh, however, seemed to have other ideas. She caught up to her uncle, and walked behind him up the stairs. He looked in every closet, under the beds and on the roof even. But they found nothing. Then he turned to her and said "**Until further notice, you're to stay with either Jacob and Nessie or with your cousin and her husband. Alright? Something's off here, I just can't put my finger on it, kiddo. But don't worry. I don't think your nuts. I believe you."**

Hayleigh looked at her uncle, and shrugged then said quietly, calmly, **Doesn't matter if you believe me, Uncle Charlie, but I'm glad you do I honestly have to spend time with Jacob's friends? Gahh they all like irritating me, especially this one.. He's a real pain, you'd love him. He's always saying I shouldn't do this, or that. His name is Embry and he's a major pain. Plus, he's mean to me.**

Charlie laughed and said **Well, maybe he likes you.? But yes, I would feel a lot better if you had someone with you, just until we figure things out. They're not so bad. They might even grow on you, Hayleigh.**

Hayleigh groaned and mumbled _**I'm pretty sure someone said that about the mice carrying bubonic plague too. And look how that turned out.**_ as she walked off to her room and began getting ready for school. Another thing she didn't want to do. Forks High. She really did not want to go to school. And she definitely did not want to get to know any of them.

If she got to know them they might start to grow on her. Then they'd leave, or hurt her, just like her mom did, over and over. And Hayleigh was NOT letting that happen again.


	4. Chapter 4

Hayleigh walked into Forks High, reluctantly. She looked around, then at her schedule and then at her watch. She only had to endure eight hours of people being idiots, and then she'd be back home with the sanest person she knew, her uncle Charlie. Considering all he'd been through, and all he had to deal with, she thought he was the rock of sanity.

In her first period class, the whispers began. Then at lunch someone asked her about Nessie, as Nessie was considered "weird" around their high school. It may have been an innocent question, but the fact that Brooke Stanley- Jessica's younger cousin- asked it, well, that sort of pissed Hayleigh off, so she punched her and walked away.

An hour later, Brooke decided to "get back at her" because of the punch, and slapped her in front of everyone in the hall. Which only further pissed Hayleigh off. So, Hayleigh followed her and the two began fighting, right there in the hallway. And now, she was sitting in front of the principal's office, an ice pack on her right eye, while Brooke pissed and moaned about her precious little nose and how Hayleigh might have broken it, and before prom too.

She just wouldn't shut up, so Hayleigh turned to her, grabbed her nose, and hit it, then said "There. Now it's really broken you stupid cow. I don't see why YOU are worried about prom, it's not like anyone's gonna ask your annoying anorexic ass anyway. If they did, they'd be desperate or as dumb as dirt."

Her uncle walked in and looked at the two girls, shaking his head. He wanted to laugh, and he knew that Hayleigh had a quick reaction time, due to the things her mother put her through, so he kept quiet. He didn't want to add fuel to the fire. He talked to the principal, and got her detention instead of expulsion, which considering the record Charlie didn't even realize she had, with fighting and what not, was generous.

He walked out of the office and the drive home was quiet, until he asked her why she'd hit Brooke Stanley. She told him and then said "It's stupid, Nessie gets treated like a leper, for something that's not her fucking fault! Her parents are in LOVE! It may be weird, they may be odd, but still, she's a kid, ya know?"

Charlie nodded and then said quietly, "So basically, it was something that was asked or said about Nessie?" Hayleigh nodded, and then said "Yeah, and it doesn't help that the rumors about my mom are still floating around. All the stuff she did, was into before she made us move years ago?"

Her uncle nodded and then said "This is your free pass. Next time, you're grounded. I'd have grounded you this time, but I can understand, sort of, what motivated you to fight Brooke. I was never a fan of Jessica, when your cousin Bella hung around her, myself."

Hayleigh nodded somberly, and turned on the tv in the house's den, finding a ball game and settling in for the afternoon. Or so she thought.A few moments later, her uncle got called into a crime scene, another attack, and she was being shuffled off to La Push for an afternoon with Jacob and Nessie.

She groaned as she stepped from the truck, and saw Embry standing there. She glared at him and walked past, her Wayfarer shades hiding the bruises from her fight. When they were inside, Nessie told EVERYONE how she'd "totally stood up for her". Hayleigh shrugged it off and said "I didn't. The stupid girl pissed me off, okay?"

Nessie hugged her cousin and smiling said "Awww, you're just saying that. I heard what you told Grandpa earlier." Hayleigh snorted in laughter and then said "Look. I don't need anybody. Got it? I don't need anybody, and I never have. I'm going for a walk, it's too horomone filled in this house."

She hadn't meant to be so mean, she just didn't do well with emotional people. She didn't do well with emotions, period. In fact, she'd stopped having them so noone would ever make her cry again. And now, today, hearing all the stuff that they called Nessie, and all the shit they reminded her about her mother, well, she felt like she was going to cry. And that just couldn't happen.

She got up and sprang from the couch, racing out the door. She ran until her lungs burned and she was in a clearing in the woods. Then she punched a tree, kicked it, and felt the tears coming freely. "Damn it!" she swore out loud. Suddenly, that freak, the one who'd kissed her after breaking into her uncle's house, was there. He cupped her cheek and then shook his head sadly, before disappearing again.

Hayleigh swung at air, because she'd been in such shock at his sudden appearance that she hadn't even been allowed to have her sudden knee jerk reaction when it came to her personal space being invaded. "One day, I'm going to get that jerk still, and I'm going to kick his ass." She said out loud, before wiping away her eyes, and trying to walk back to the house.

She shoved past Embry and flopped down on the couch. Everyone else was gone, but Nessie, who was at the store with Emily. Embry sat down next to her and cleared his throat.

Hayleigh looked up with a raised brow and asked "Swallow a bug or something, Call?" before she looked back down again. To her surprise, she was shocked again, as she was pulled into a hug, where he soothed her hair while he held her. When the hug broke, she looked at him and said "W-Why the hell did you do that, exactly?" before edging towards her side of the couch in a little ball.

Embry raised a brow at her unusual reaction to the way he'd held her, and then said "Look, noone's here, you can drop the Ms. Tough girl act for now. What's so wrong with getting hugged? Or feeling bad when someone insults your family? Why do you act like this anyway, Hayleigh?"

Hayleigh shrugged as her mind flashed back to every single thing in her life that'd lead to her being the scared, cold and emotionally closed off teenage girl she was today. Sure, a big part of her WANTED Embry to like her, wanted him to look at her the way that Jake looked at Ness, but at the same time, an even bigger part of her, the messed up part, just wanted to be left alone, so she didn't have to deal with everything that'd happened to her, in her life.

She was confused, and she didn't like it, not one little bit.


	5. Chapter 5

Hayleigh rolled over and looked at the clock on the bedside table, before growling sleepily. She sat up and cursed, launching a pillow at the wall. Since that afternoon, when Embry had held her like that, she hadn't been able to think straight. She hadn't been able to get it off her mind and it was pissing her off. She rolled over, and grabbed her Ipod, jamming in her earbuds, and turned on Eminem.

She began to feel sleepy, then she felt colder. Like the window was open or something. When she looked over, the man with red eyes and black hair was sitting in a chair near the window, watching her. This prompted her to jump up, and grab a baseball bat, swinging.

She hit air. Her uncle was gone on another call, or he'd have ran in the second she started screaming earlier at her frustration at not being able to sleep, so she KNEW beyond a shadow of a doubt, she was fucked.

Or so she thought. The next thing she knew, she was hearing her door being almost kicked open. She slept with it locked, old habits from the life she'd lived before coming back here, and not letting her guard down. Then Embry burst in, and lunged at the guy.

They fought, and she didn't realize she was screaming, or what she was screaming as it was going on. But in her mind, she was going back to the only other person who'd stood up for her, protected her, and almost died for it.

This guy down the block named John. They'd been close when she lived with her Mom, and he was protective of her. So, when she let it slip about one of the men her mom brought home, the things he kept trying to do at night, John had slept over. And the man came in, like usual, when her mom was passed out.

John and the man fought. And she'd seen it all. He'd nearly died, and it'd been all her fault.

Embry was beyond furious when he realized that Alec was stalking Hayleigh, so he'd went over, intending to just check on her. He caught Alec slipping in her bedroom window, so he'd went in without even stopping to phase to wolf first. He burst into her bedroom, and began to beat the hell out of Alec.

And he was winning too. Alec finally left, weakened and bloody, for that moment, and he realized that Hayleigh was sitting in a corner, eyes covered, shaking and crying, mumbling to herself over and over. He grabbed her, and wrapped her blanket around her and then left Charlie a note to find explaining what'd happened.

Silently he thanked god that Alice had seen all this earlier. His skin crawled and his stomach churned at the thought of what that leech could have done to Hayleigh. He didn't think, he just carried Hayleigh to his house, and then got her semi calm. After she'd puked a few times, she sat down on his bed and said quietly, "Sorry I umm freaked on you. I saw someone I cared a lot about nearly get beaten to death trying to keep me safe. And I was afraid it would happen again, only this time it'd be you."

Embry sat in silent shock at what she'd just admitted. Out loud. But he also realized she'd NEVER admit to saying it, not now, at least. So, he smiled a little and then leaned in and kissed her gently.

Hayleigh was shocked by the kiss, then she flinched and wound up kissing back. When the kiss broke, she mumbled something, then kicked off her uggs, and rolled over, falling asleep on his bed. It'd shocked her, everything she'd been through and what she'd admitted to him. She knew she meant it, but it terrified her.

Embry sat watching her sleep, trying not to think about what little he'd discovered that she wore to sleep in at night, and smiled a little to himself in the dark. Maybe the imprinting thing had taken after all. He'd been worried that his would be a rejedtion, because of his luck, and his being last and all.

He also noticed that she had nightmare after nightmare as she slept, and now he KNEW exactly why she acted like she did most of the time and always looked so tired. He promised himself silently, that he would NEVEr let anything happen to her, if he could help it. And to be there for her, and help her work through all the messed up things she'd seen, heard or had done to her before.

She was his, after all. And he couldn't have been happier knowing it, than right now, with her tossing and turning and mumbling in his bed, while he watched from a futon thing in the corner of his room. He would get in and hold her, but he was not going to rush this.

Now that he knew the imprinting thing had been a success, he knew he had the rest of their lives for that. And he could wait, and he would.

Her emotional state was more important to him.


End file.
